Compass
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: "When it's all said and done, you can walk instead of run, because no matter what, you'll never be alone." The team rallies around Paige when she has to fight to keep custody of Ralph after Drew determines her job puts their son in too much danger. Set sometime in season two.
1. Chapter 1

**I saw some confessions/speculations on Tumblr wondering if Drew would ever try and take custody of Ralph. I think it's possible – I don't like Drew, but I don't think he'd do it just to be an ass, so in this fic, I'm having him try to take Ralph to protect him. This takes place sometime in early to mid season two. Be ready for lots of team love and Quintis.**

* * *

"I see London, I see France!"

Happy straightened up and gave the psychiatrist a look. "First of all, you can't see my underwear. Second of all, it was your idea I play with this stupid ferret, it won't work in your favor to get on my case."

"You know I'm always willing to get on your case."

"Don't make this dirty." Her eyes rolled, but she was smiling as she turned back to the ferret. "Come on, Ferret Bueller, grab the rope." She wiggled the item in front of him. The little animal regarded Happy for a moment, then jumped on the rope, grabbing it in its teeth and tugging. Happy toyed with it, tugging the rope and ferret forward a few inches, then letting it pull back what she had gained.

"He likes you!"

"I still don't like him."

"That's your problem."

"It's also his problem," Happy pointed out. "If he pisses me off I have about three dozen tools that can kill him with minimal effort. Hey!" she staggered backward when the ferret went from pulling forcefully on the rope to letting it go without warning, darting over to Toby.

"Aw, you scared him!" he said, petting the ferret gingerly. Happy rolled her eyes.

The door to the garage opened, and both geniuses turned, expecting Cabe or Paige. The were correct – and their prediction had brought Ralph with her.

"Hey-ey!" Toby said, making the word two syllables. "Look who we have here! Come here and lay some skin on me, Ralphy boy." Ralph grinned, running over to Toby and slapping his palm.

"Come here, come here," Happy said, holding out her own hand. "High five!" Ralph obliged, and Happy lowered her hand to be at Ralph's chest level. "Low five!" She held it up again. "No five!" and she and Ralph purposely missed each other's hands.

Toby was watching, and cocked his head, glancing at Paige. "What just happened?" She didn't answer, and it was then he noticed the distressed look on her face. "Paige?" Toby walked toward her. "Oh my god, what's wrong?"

She smiled down at her son, walking over and running her hand through his hair. "Ralph, why don't you run upstairs and see if Walter has anything cool to show you. Okay?"

"Yeah!" Ralph grinned and darted forward, eagerly heading for the stairs. When he was gone, she sighed deeply and shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Paaaaige?" Toby drew out her name, cocking his head hesitantly. "Talk to us."

She bit her lip. "Drew called."

"Say no more," Toby said.

"No," Paige said, looking irritated. "It's...it's bad." She reached into her purse and pulled out a mess of papers. She struggled to get them in order, and ended up just shoving the stack at the behaviorist.

"Well well well, what do we have...oh." Toby froze, his eyes scanning the document. "Oh...my...god."

"What is it? What's happening?" Sly asked quickly as he descended the stairs, walking up and peeking over Toby's shoulder. His face fell and he looked over at Paige with horror. "Oh..."

"Well, don't leave me out of this," Happy said. "What's going on?"

"It's bad," Sylvester said. "It's really bad."

"Yeah," Happy said, raising her eyebrows. "Yeah, I got it, thanks." She stepped closer to the men, trying to see what they were reading.

"It's Drew," Paige said again. "He's...he's decided that, because of this job, it would be in Ralph's best interests to be in his care. He's seeking full custody."

Happy's eyes shot up from her angle to the papers and met Paige's." _What_?"

Anger flashed in Toby's eyes. "The absolute _nerve_ of that guy." He spiked the papers to the floor. "What?" He asked Paige when she gave him a look. "It's not like they were all neat and together already."

"What are you going to do?" Sylvester stammered.

Paige threw up her hands. "What can I do? I'll fight him on it, and being his mother I think I have some statistical advantage, but...I don't know what's going to happen."

"You out earn him," Toby said. "You are the one who has been there for Ralph and you're just an overall good person, which is more than he..."

"He's not being a bad person," Paige said. "Both of us just want to do what is best for Ralph. We..we just happen to differ pretty strongly on the subject of Scorpion."

"The most important thing that's ever happened to him," Toby said. Happy and Sly nodded in agreement. "That kid needs us," Happy said. "We never had people that understood growing up and we'd be a hell of a lot better off if we had."

"I just hope I can convince the courts that," Paige said. "I'm in the middle of looking for a lawyer, and..." her phone buzzed, and she fished it out of the back pocket of her skinny jeans. "Oh...I have to take this. Out...outside." Flustered, she put the phone to her ear and jogged to the door.

* * *

When Paige got off the phone with the third person to call her back, she was no further along in finding a lawyer than she'd been when she started. Or rather, she supposed she had made a bit of progress – she knew these three were _not_ going to work. They didn't understand why she wanted to do exactly what she wanted to do. And whoever helped her had to understand. Maybe Toby or Happy knew someone. With Toby's gambling and Happy being shuffled around in foster care, they'd had to have had some experience with legal proceedings.

She could tell from the noise wafting down to her that the rest of the team had Ralph on the roof and were making paper airplanes, an observation that was validated by one whizzing past her ear on its way down to the concrete. Ralph so far hadn't picked up on her agitation, and she wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.

She entered the garage and almost bumped right into Walter, who appeared to have been loitering just inside the door. "Oh," she said, surprised. "I figured you were up on the roof."

"No." He cleared his throat. "Listen."

"I take it you know?"

"Ah, yes, Toby...Toby was quite vocal, when Happy quickly intercepted us on the stairs and rushed Ralph up to the roof." He shifted, looking uncomfortable. "Look, I just want you to know, that...that we understand."

Paige cocked her head. "Understand what?"

"That, ah, you have to do what you have to do. Drew wants to take Ralph to keep him away from us, so you will be leaving us to keep him with you. It's nothing personal, it's just your best move."

Paige was confused. "Are you firing me?"

Now it was Walter's turn. "What? No, it's just...I'm assuming that you will be leaving Scorpion so you don't lose custody of Ralph. I honestly don't know how we'll manage without you, but we've got Cabe, and we're...we're better at communicating with the world, and Ralph, well, Ralph's the most important thing and Drew will never be half the parent you are, and once you're not with us anymore it will be easy, Drew might even withdraw his intentions..."

"Walter, I'm not going anywhere."

He blinked. "I don't follow."

"Drew believes Scorpion is dangerous," Paige said. "And he's right. But we've done well, for the most part, of keeping Ralph out of that danger, and...and he's changed, since the two of us came here. You know that, he's..." her voice cracked, "he's so much better. I believe it is in Ralph's best interests to remain with this team." She set her jaw, determined. "I wouldn't be doing right by him, to leave and prevent him from growing up among you. So I'm not quitting Scorpion. I'm fighting to keep my son...as I am. As we are. As this is. It's what's best for him, and there's no convincing me otherwise."

* * *

 **I graduated university on Saturday and am on a vacation for the week, so I don't know how soon I can update, but hopefully you guys are interested in reading more! Feel free to leave me a review on this and future chapters, I love getting them!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed chapter one! I had some time tonight so I was able to get the next bit edited.**

 **Just a disclaimer here as I'm delving into the legal stuff – my research on this subject is partly the internet and partly from people I know who have gone through custody battles, one of which had a concern about a parent's employment. I know technicalities are different in each state, but I'm just going off of what I know, since this is fanfic, after all.**

* * *

She felt a tug on her hand. "Mom," he said, looking up at her, still tugging. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, baby," Paige said, running her fingers through his hair.

"But you keep doing that."

"What?"

Ralph motioned for her to lean down, and when she did, he dropped his eyes, lifting his hands to her hair and making a petting motion. "That. You touch my hair and look away. You want to be affectionate, but you're sad."

"You spent more time with Toby today than I thought," Paige responded.

"He knows what he's talking about. I might not understand, but I know he does. So I trust him." Ralph blinked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm just a little...stressed," Paige said. It wasn't time to tell him. She didn't want him to think she was villianizing his father. "Is your homework all done?"

"Yes."

"Is it all correct?"

Ralph looked frustrated. "Yes."

"Okay." Paige looked over at the T.V. "You want to play some video games while Mama looks over some paperwork?"

"Can Walter come over and play with me?"

"Not tonight. But I'll let him know you want a rematch, okay?"

"Him beating me was a fluke. I beat him all the other times."

"And you can prove that some other night, okay?"

He gave her a small smile. "Okay."

Paige smiled as she watched him settle down on the couch with his console, feeling the tears spring to her eyes. She'd been in several romantic relationships, the ones in high school, and then Drew, and none of them compared to the strength of her feelings for Ralph. He was the clear and complete love of her life, and she couldn't bear the idea of losing him, and of him losing Team Scorpion, the reason behind most of the smiles that came across his little face. She sank down onto the kitchen chair and tapped her fingers against the papers she'd printed off from the internet – _Custody Battles – What To Expect?_

Tomorrow they wouldn't be in front of a judge – Hell, neither of them would even have legal counsel present; though Paige was certain Drew already had an attorney, he'd agreed that both of them would go alone – but she was still nervous. The Court Master assigned to their case would hear their basic arguments and determine the next course of action, a thought that terrified Paige. Tomorrow the first domino would fall, setting off a chain of events with a very low visibility.

* * *

"Mr. Baker," the Court Master said, "I understand that you have not been present in your son's life until the past year, is that correct?"

Paige's nails were down to the quick. She and Drew had already been at this preliminary hearing – she couldn't remember what it was really called – for almost twenty minutes already, and it was clear that he was calmer than she. He'd flashed her a brief – and almost apologetic – look when they'd entered the room, and was speaking calmly, clearly, while she stammered. At the very least, she appreciated that he wasn't gloating over his clear advantage at this particular stage.

"I was in his life," Drew said, "at first. When my relationship with...with Miss Dineen ended, we lost contact. I take responsibility for that. But I am back in his life now and have been for some time. He spends some nights with me. He knows who I am and he knows that I love him."

"Miss Dineen." The Master adjusted her glasses, her pen frantically moving across the paper. "Is what Mr. Baker is saying true?"

"He has been back in his life, yes. I determined that that was what was best for Ralph. To know both his parents. Both of us." She hated every word coming out of her mouth. _I'm sweating places I didn't think you could sweat._

"And the cause of conflict here is your job, correct?"

Paige nodded. "Yes. I-I work for Scorpion, a team of geniuses that work with Homeland to solve the most pressing issues of our time. I am their...PR person, if you will."

"And the job is dangerous?"

"Yes, it can be. But it gives me the funds to give Ralph whatever he needs. And he's...he's gifted. So he responds well to them. The team."

"Except when he almost falls hundreds of feet into an incinerator," Drew muttered. "Who knows what he's doing with them now."

"The boy is with your co-workers?"

Paige cleared her throat to steady her voice. "He is. He's at the office. He's perfectly safe."

The Court Master made a disapproving sound in her throat. "Well, I think I have all I need here." She hit the papers against the top of the table to even them out. "I'm recommending this case go to trial, meaning you will bring witnesses, as well as the boy, and speak before a judge, each providing evidence for why you believe you should have custody. The date will be set in the next week or two. Until then, the child will remain in Miss Dineen's custody."

* * *

"Except when he almost falls hundreds of feet into an incinerator," Paige repeated as she and Drew left the building. "What the Hell was that?"

"I was merely bringing up an even that, if I recall correctly, you were quite upset about as well," Drew pointed out.

Paige gave a frustrated sigh. "I know. It just felt...low."

"Paige, come on," Drew said. "You have to see what's really going on here."

"You're trying to take away our son after you spent most of his life completely absent?"

"I don't want to take him away from you," Drew said. "I just think...I think this whole Scorpion thing is clouding your judgement."

"How, Drew? How is it clouding my judgement?"

"Ralph almost died helping your team," Drew said. "And you refuse to take a job that puts him in less danger."

"I mean, you refused to stick around, so..."

"Is this because of Walter?"

"Is _what_ because of Walter?"

"Like I can't see you have feelings for him?" Drew said, raising an eyebrow.

Paige stepped backward. "Are you accusing me of putting our son at risk so I can try to get in the pants of one of my co – workers?"

"I'm not saying you're doing it on purpose!"

Paige spun on her heel and stormed off. She didn't know what infuriated her more – the fact that Drew would accuse her of putting Ralph in harm's way so she could be around Walter, or the fact that he was _so damn sure_ he was right.

* * *

 **I want to clarify something real quick – Drew isn't right. Paige isn't blindly making bad decisions for Ralph because of her feelings for Walter. Paige really does believe, one hundred percent – that Ralph needs Scorpion. Drew – who didn't really know the 'before Scorpion' Ralph and therefore can't know personally how much they've helped him – believes Scorpion is bad for him, and doesn't get how Paige doesn't see that, so he's assuming her feelings for Walter are causing her to have bad judgement. That's not where I'm going with this – my goal here is to make neither parent out to be the 'bad guy' just two people who want to do what's best for their son but happen to have very strong differing opinions on what exactly that means.**


	3. Chapter 3

**I couldn't let several hours of free time in the inn go by without cranking out another chapter! I'm so glad you guys are enjoying it so far!**

 **I know I said this wasn't going to be a shippy fic, but the Quintis is kinda oozing into the story. I'm sure no one minds. It's still primarily Paige and Ralph though!**

* * *

"Hey guys, I'm..." Paige stopped, her jaw falling open as she regarded the scene in front of her.

The geniuses were surrounding a stool set up in the middle of the garage, and sitting on the stool was Ralph – at least, that's what she gauged by the size of the person sitting there.

Ralph's hair was now black. He had black glasses perched on his nose – with fake lenses, as she judged by his lack of squinting – and one thick black eyebrow. Sylvester appeared out of nowhere with the other eyebrow, sticking it firmly on and grinning triumphantly. He turned to Walter and they high fived.

"What on Earth?" Paige took a hesitant step toward them as they noticed her. "What are you doing?"

"We're...disguising him," Toby said, making a flourishing motion toward Ralph.

"By turning him into Harry Potter?"

"Well he doesn't look like Ralph Dineen, now does he?" Happy said with a pointed look in Paige's direction.

"I think I want to see those I.Q. reports they did on you guys."

"Ralph," Paige said. "Is...did you have a good day?"

"The best!" Ralph said. "Walter and I worked on the rocket, then Happy and I worked on a motorcycle engine that..." he trailed off and cleared his throat, "that she's restoring for someone for their birthday."

"Is she now?" Toby asked, looking over at Happy and raising his eyebrows.

"Thanks, Ralphie boy," Happy said under her breath.

"Will this..." Paige rain her hands through Ralph's hair. "Will this be washing out any time soon?"

"The bottle said four to six washes," Walter said. "But we can reapply it in a few days."

"Why, why, why would we do that?" Paige asked.

"In case someone comes after him," Toby said, and Paige set her jaw in warning. "I'm not saying anyone might come after him," Toby said, patting Ralph's shoulder, "just, you know, he's a member of a very important, prominent team that has pissed their fair share of people off, we're just looking out for our little Scorpling."

"Hey," Walter said, stepping toward Paige and guiding her away from the group, "anyway," he glanced over his shoulder at Ralph, who was laughing hysterically at something Happy said. "How, uh, how did it go today?"

"I choked a little bit," Paige said. "But it couldn't have been that bad because Ralph's still with me, right?"

"Admittedly, I don't know all there is to know on child custody laws," Walter said, "but I did do some...some research today – discreetly, of course! Ralph still knows nothing – and you being the mother, plus Drew being...being so absent...you have a good chance, I mean, this job shouldn't be that big of a hurdle, it's not like police officers or fire fighters don't have custody of their children, and they risk their lives every day..."

"I know," Paige said. "Drew keeps bringing up the incident...with the incinerator. And I know he has his parents...who actually have custody of a granddaughter they have through Drew's brother. So that gives him some credibility that I can't have...there's no family for me."

"What about us?"

"Biological family."

"I mean...wit...witnesses." he cleared his throat. "Trials need witnesses. To vouch for character, and...all that, we can help."

Paige nodded rapidly, blinking back the tears that she was determined not to shed after the good cry she'd had in the car on the way to the garage. "I'd appreciate that."

Walter set his jaw and nodded firmly, the tiniest of smiles on his face. Paige knew that look – it was his _so that's that_ expression. She nodded back. "Thank you."

"Mom," Ralph said, suddenly appearing next to Walter, "Can Toby and Happy take me out to dinner?"

"Are you sure they'll be able to keep track of you, dressed like that?" Paige joked.

"We'll do our best," Happy said, grinning at Toby.

"I'll keep an eye on Ralph," Toby said, "and you can keep thinking of ways to improve that motorcycle you're restoring for me."

"I didn't say it was for you," Ralph said, the corner of his mouth turning up as he playfully crossed his arms.

"Well it ain't for Sylvester, I can tell you that much." Toby grinned.

"That is true," Sylvester said. "I would not enjoy that."

"C'mon little man," Happy said, smiling down at Ralph. She glanced up at Paige. "We'll have him back to you by nine, okay?"

Paige nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

* * *

"Alright buddy," Paige said, leaning against the doorframe of her son's room. "It's time for lights out."

"I'm almost to the next level," he protested, turning the laptop around to show her the game he was playing.

"Did I approve this one?" she asked, stepping closer.

"Walter and Sly made it for me. It's programmed to increase the difficulty if I'm moving too fast. Yes," he clarified. "You saw it."

"Well, you can play more after school tomorrow. You need your rest."

"Fine." Ralph closed the laptop and handed it to her. She set it on the table outside his room, then walked back to the bed, leaning down and kissing Ralph's forehead. He grabbed her hand and pressed his lips to it briefly – something new he'd been doing, just in the past few weeks – that always made her heart soar. Then he closed his eyes and settled against the pillows. "I'm so glad you had a good day, baby," she whispered to him, rubbing his hand with her thumb and smiling when she felt no tension in her son. _How can anyone think Scorpion isn't good for him?_

Kneeling next to the bed, still holding his hand in hers, Paige softly began to sing. She smiled to herself as he lulled into sleep, his breath coming slowly and steadily, his nose twitching slightly as it always did when he was dozing off. She was glad he was falling quickly tonight, so he didn't have to hear her voice crack on the end of the second verse.

 _There is only one wish on my mind. When this day is through I hope that I will find that tomorrow will be just the same for you and me, and all I need will be mine if you are here._


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the wait, guys! I had some personal things to take care of. Here's the next chapter...not much happens on the legal side of things, but I wanted to show the Cyclone some more.**

* * *

"Do we not have a case?"

"We did," Cabe said. "But I passed it along. It wasn't something only we could handle and no one is working at full capacity."

"He has no faith in us," Toby said, feigning hurt.

"Not when you all are so distracted, I don't," Cabe said. "Not to handle something like this."

"I thought you said it wasn't that important?" Happy snipped, glaring at him.

Cabe stared at her for a moment, and then let out a deep sigh. "I just think we all need to put this behind us before we go back to being all that stands between humanity and chaos."

"We can't put it behind us until it is resolved," Walter said. "And the hearing isn't for another week."

"Ralph still doesn't know, is that correct?" Cabe asked.

"I haven't told him," Happy said.

Toby shook his head. "Me either."

"Good. We can't let this affect him."

"That would not be a good idea," Walter said. "It's affecting Paige enough already."

"She is handling it remarkably from what I've seen," Cabe said. "She's not missing work, she's acting the same around him. It's commendable."

"That doesn't make her okay," Walter said. "Yesterday she came into work with the tag sticking out the back of her shirt. And she's paler than usual. Plus she keeps looking down at her feet when she doesn't have anywhere specific to direct her eyes. Her _eyes_ , that are…are tired. And stressed. We _have_ to figure out a way to help because she doesn't deserve to continue on like this." He put his hands on his hips, then noticed that Toby was looking at him with a knowing expression. He exhaled sharply. "Shut up."

"Didn't say anything," Toby said. "No need, when you can tell us every little detail about Paige that has changed since Drew filed."

"Hey hey," Sylvester said, standing up and walking over to stand next to Walter. "I think it is important that our leader know everything there is to know about his team. It makes us extra productive!" He slung his arm over Walter's shoulder then leaned toward his ear. "I got your back buddy," he stage whispered. Cabe started to laugh, then cut it short and turned the sound into clearing his throat. "Well, Paige is going to be using us as witnesses, do we all know what we'd say?"

"We don't know which of us she's planning on using yet," Toby said, "but we have compared our major talking points via both pie graph and chart to make sure that everyone has the basics covered. Reaching behind him, he pulled out a whiteboard that was filled from end to end with notes, arrows, and Venn Diagrams, as well as a stick figure drawing of someone in a plane flying toward the word "Maine." Toby pointed to the drawing. "To clarify, that's Drew, and Ralph isn't with him."

"Paige wants us to not say anything negative about Drew," Happy said. "We are the very people he doesn't want Ralph around and we can't even explain why the guy doesn't deserve the son he abandoned."

"This is a situation where the haters can't hate," Toby said. "Taylor Swift would not approve."

"I think you guys need a bit of a refresher on the definition of "hating"," Cabe said. "Explaining why you believe Paige is a better parent than Drew isn't the same thing as saying Drew is a bad person. If the judge doesn't believe Paige is better for Ralph, he'll award custody to the kid's father, and so whether she likes it or not, we have to talk about how Drew wasn't present, and how he wants to prevent the kid from being with people that make him happy to be the way he is. How the Hell is Paige planning to win if we don't?"

"She's going to say all that," Toby said. "She just doesn't want us to."

"Well, we may not know the story as well as she does," Cabe said, "but we know the basic fact, and that is that Paige is who Ralph needs to finish growing up with. And if she wants the best chance of winning this case, we need to tell the judge that whether Paige likes it or not. She just wants to protect Ralph's father's image for the sake of the boy. In the end, she'll understand that we have to do what we have to do."

* * *

Paige was sitting on the couch reading – a book disguised with an old book cover from her high school days to prevent Ralph from seeing the subject matter – when the doorbell rang. Ralph jumped up, running for the door. "Walter's here!"

"Hey buddy," Walter said, crouching down and gathering Ralph up when the boy opened the door. He rose, using his foot to push the door closed.

"He is getting too big to be carried," Paige said, looking up from her book with a smile.

"Eh," Walter said dismissively, walking around to the front of the couch and lowering Ralph to one end of it. Taking a seat in the middle, he took the remote Ralph handed him and looked over at Paige. "You going to play?"

"Oh," she said. "I think we both know the answer to that question." Ralph giggled. "I'm going to go in my room and read…you guys will be okay out here?" Walter and Ralph gave her a pair of upward turned thumbs that were so in sync it seemed impossible to be accidental. Paige smiled and nodded to them. "Water pitcher is in the fridge. Have fun."

* * *

The next time she looked at the clock, it was after midnight. She looked at the clock radio beside her bed, startled. _Did I fall asleep?_ The book she had been reading was on the floor, pages splayed, one with a deep crease. _Must have._ She wondered if Ralph had gone to bed on his own or if he and Walter were still rematching.

Paige wandered back out into the living room, a bit curious at the lack of exploding sounds from the TV or mild trash talk from the players. She stopped when her eyes fell on the couch.

Walter was stretched out on it, his head resting on the arm farthest from her, his eyes closed, one arm lazily stretched out over in front of the couch and his breathing slow and steady. Next to him, Ralph was asleep as well, his head resting on Walter's outstretched arm. His own arm was dangling, his joint in a better position than gravity than Walter's. Walter's other arm was crossed over his body, resting on Ralph's upper back.

Paige slowly moved backward, holding her hands out behind her to feel for the wall. She leaned against it, drawing in a long, deep breath to regulate her breathing.

This was why she hated when Walter came over. Watching him and Ralph interact in her home always got her so emotional she could hardly handle it, and now, with the prospect of her losing Ralph, and Ralph losing all of them – even a joint custody arrangement would give him significantly less time with the cyclone…the knowledge of Ralph's current calm potentially being shattered, while he lay asleep and completely unknowing….she put a hand over her face as she pressed her lips together to stop her crying from becoming audible. She sat silently against the wall, shaking with the effort of not waking them up, wishing that the combined I.Q. of the team was enough to magically make this go away.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the length of time between updates…Tumblr was scaring me a bit a few days ago and I wanted to take a little extra time for stuff to blow over. (Also I was just really tired.)**

* * *

"Happy, were there any other ferrets where we got this little guy?" Toby asked.

"Are you asking because you want to steal another ferret?" She held her hand out, and Toby obediently put her wrench in it. She lowered herself to eye level with the engine.

"I think Ferret Bueller needs a buddy."

"Considering all the time you spend trying to make him 'people' I'm not sure he misses the other ferrets."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Why don't we talk about important things?" Happy said. "We have to go before the judge in three days to help Paige keep Ralph, and you want to talk about getting the weasel a friend?"

"Maybe I want to give Ralph a ferret."

"What, to like, remember us by or something?" Happy said, standing and raising an eyebrow.

"No, just in general. He likes our little guy."

"Toby Curtis," Happy said, throwing her wrench against his chest. "You don't think we're going to do it?"

"I didn't say that."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing, nothing," Toby said, "except…maybe look up Drew's parents to see what they're about."

"What did you find?"

Toby sighed. "Aside from having custody of Ralph's cousin, they have fostered three children who came from bad homes. They do charity work to benefit children's hospitals, and Drew's father Gregg donates to bad neighborhoods to help develop after school programs for high risk youth."

Happy blinked. "And…"

"And they've moved to the town over from Drew. If Ralph goes to live with him, Jesus Christ and Mother Teresa will be ten minutes away. They're Drew's witnesses and Ralph's babysitters, should he win."

Happy set her jaw. "So I was right. You don't think we can do it."

"I'm just saying it's going to be hard."

Happy bit her upper lip, then shook her head. "Doesn't matter."

"It…it does, though."

"No." She stepped close to him, putting one hand on his chest and the other on hers. "You believed in us. Now believe in _us._ " She took a step back and gestured around the garage. "If we can save the world every week, we can keep Ralph with us. You're always the one that believes it'll all be okay, and we need you to keep believing that." She took his hand. "Can you believe it with me? Please?"

Toby looked into her eyes for a moment, then spoke. "Gregg got a ticket for parking illegally last month."

She grinned. "See? We can do this."

* * *

"Paige, before you go."

She shifted her bag to her other shoulder as she turned around. "Yeah?"

"I know the hearing is soon," Walter said. "And we, the team, we've been working, toiling really, on…on coming up with the best statements possible. Now, despite being the smartest person at the hearing, I do feel that you should…approve the…the material, _so_ ," Walter held the cards out, "here, my…my notes. I uh, I do have it memorized but…but I don't want to mess it up, so."

"Oh," Paige said, taking the cards from him and holding them awkwardly. "Thanks. Uh, listen," she said, pushing her hair back behind her ear. "I really appreciate all you're doing here, with these, but, um," she cleared her throat. "Walter, I'm not listing you as a witness."

His face barely changed expressions, but there was enough of a shift for Paige to know he'd heard her. "Um…" he briefly glanced at his feet, "I…" he frowned. "Um…"

"Hey," she said gently, "it's not that I don't think these…this speech of yours would be wonderful. You understand almost more than anyone…almost as much as someone _can_ understand…how good Scorpion is for Ralph. But…" she looked at the note cards, frowning herself. "Look…I don't know a good way to say this, so…" she looked up at him. "Drew thinks that our relationship is tainting my ability to make smart decisions. About Ralph."

"I don't follow."

"He thinks that…" she was never good at lying, but fortunately, something came to her. "He thinks that the fact that you were the one to clue me in to Ralph's intelligence, that I tend to blindly believe what you say, and he thinks it's led me into letting Ralph get into dangerous situations."

"Well if that's the case," Walter said, "then I _should_ testify. To prove that I understand the risks that I put my team through, and that I am perfectly _capable_ of…"

"That's not…it's not the whole story," she said, "but I can't tell you."

His genuinely confused look broke her head. "Why not?"

"I just…" she cleared her throat. "You brought me here to translate the world for you. And this is something I don't know how to translate, and I'm just going to need you to not question it." She locked eyes with him. "Can you try to do that for me?"

He didn't speak, but his head moved slightly in a nodding motion.

"Look, even though I don't think you should speak…but I appreciate what you've done here." She took in a breath. "I'm going to be asking Toby, Happy, and Cabe. Sylvester knows he'd be too nervous." She started rushing. "And I'd, I mean, I'd appreciate anything you'd do to help them get ready, you know."

Walter nodded. "Okay. As you wish." He looked to the side, frowning, quietly clearing his throat as if he didn't want her to know he was doing it. Then he looked back at her and nodded again. "They'll do a great job. I know you know that."

She nodded. "We'll do it. I really think we will."

* * *

 **Wanted to show Happy being the optimistic one for once – I know that's not the Quintis dynamic we see on the show, but I wanted to play around with role reversal as I've seen a couple other writers do. And it was time to bring back Drew's "you have feelings for Walter" concerns from earlier, but without making this into a Waige fic. Please let me know what you thought!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I've been sitting on this draft for days, and I was up a little early this morning so thought, why not finish it before work?**

* * *

Paige usually allowed herself an extra half hour of sleep on Saturdays, but with the hearing only days away, she was too stressed to even sleep her normal hours. She tried to stay quiet, but Ralph soon appeared, rubbing his eyes.

She tried to keep up lively conversation as they ate breakfast. "You want to go to the garage with me today?"

"Of course."

"Okay, good," she said, taking his cereal bowl and taking it to the sink along with hers. "Go brush your teeth, grab your shoes, kay?" She picked her keys up off the counter and briefly glanced at her reflection in the toaster.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, baby?"

Ralph curled his lower lip under. "I don't want Dad to take me."

Paige jumped at the sound of her keys hitting the floor. "Uh," she said, flustered as she bent to retrieve them. "What, uh, what are you talking about, Ralphie?"

Ralph didn't look amused. "I know he wants me to come live with him."

She hunkered down in front of him. "Who told you that? Was it Walter?"

"Eh, no," Ralph said. "He's pretending nothing's going on just like you and Toby."

"It was Happy?"

Ralph shook his head. "But she and Toby are good, and she's been really aggressive working, so she's been upset."

Paige's eyes narrowed.

* * *

" _Techincally_ , we didn't lie," Toby said, attempting to juggle three oranges. They scattered. "I said I didn't tell him, Happy said she didn't tell him, we never said he didn't know or that Sylvester didn't tell him."

"Well Cabe assured me that he didn't know, and now I find out he's had to harbor this for days without me knowing about it and being able to help him."

"You've been harboring it longer than that," Toby said. "Now you don't have to tiptoe around. I think you'll ultimately find it rather nice..."

" _Oh my God, Toby_!" Paige snapped.

"Hey!" Happy said sharply. "That kid knew something was wrong. He was worried. One of the biggest stressors for us is knowing there's a problem but not knowing what the problem is. If we know what the problem is, we can start formulating a solution. Ralph's wheels were spinning and he didn't know what direction to point them. Sly talked to him. Now he has time to prepare for either outcome. His mind works in overdrive, Paige. You can't keep things from him like you would most people."

"I know I couldn't keep it a secret forever," Paige said. "And I know you guys are trying to help but this needed to come from me. I'm his mother."

"And you're fighting to keep both your job and Ralph because you understand that we're family too." Toby folded his arms. "And Sly felt it was best to tell him. And you know what? The kid's glad he did."

"Speaking of the kid," Happy said, frowning and glancing around the room. "Where'd he go?"

* * *

"Hi, Walter."

Walter turned, the book still open in his hands as he looked up. "Hey-hey, buddy!" He grinned. "How are you doing?" Closing the book, he set it on a shelf and turned back to the boy.

Ralph shrugged. "I'm feeling some apprehension about Thursday. The possibility of equilibrium being disturbed..."

"I know." He nodded. "But listen, Happy, Toby, Cabe, they're all going to do a wonderful job of explaining why you should stay with your mom."

Ralph's lip trembled. "At least if I'd gone to Maine last year, she'd be there too."

"Hey," Walter said, a little more forcefully than he'd intended, "don't think like that."

"My brain has to run all potential outcomes," Ralph said. "You know that."

Walter nodded. "Sometimes I'd say you're too much like me."

"I _want_ to be like you!"

Walter cleared his throat, dropping down to match Ralph's eye level. "Look, buddy. I know this scares you. I know it does. It, uh...well...we don't want you to go anywhere any more than you want to leave, ah..." he looked down.

"I just want you to remember," he continued, choosing his words carefully, "you're not a freak. You're special. And it doesn't matter what other kids say to you, or if you aren't good at football or, or, or if you don't make student council. And it doesn't matter if you and your dad don't have anything in common. Because you aren't those other kids at school and you aren't him. You're you, and you are one of the most incredible minds I have ever met." He smiled. "You know that quote we talked about?"

"Whatever you are, be a good one."

Walter nodded. "You know that I'm usually not amused by inspirational little sayings, but that one has merit. Everyone has a place, a strength, and if you feel out of your element, it doesn't mean you don't have an element. And it doesn't mean anyone else's element is better than yours."

Walter's hands were resting loosely, his fingers linked together between his knees. Ralph reached for them. "Would you visit me?"

Walter pressed his lips together, blinking rapidly, then nodded. "Yeah. Yeah. We all would. But uh, you know something, buddy? We have some strong arguments to present. I don't think you're going anywhere."

* * *

When Sylvester entered the garage, smiling, Megan in tow, he was all ready to lie – seriously, Megan had coached him in the car on what to say – and claim that he'd brought her because the doctors had said it would be good for her to leave the hospital for the day, not to coach Ralph on what to say should he be questioned at the hearing. But the look in Paige's eyes when she saw him didn't need Toby's translation – she knew.

"Uh, I'm assuming Ralph is upstairs with Walter," Sylvester said in a rush. "He'll want to say hi to Megan. I'll go and get him."

"Sly, wait..." Paige started, but he was already darting toward the stairs. She turned and smiled at Megan. "Hey there."

"Hi," she said, smiling and shifting her crutches. "Doc said it'd be good if I..."

"Talked to Ralph about the custody hearing?" Paige said with raised eyebrows.

"You know," Megan said, "I'd keep up the façade but that's awfully specific."

"Uh, heh," Toby said awkwardly, walking over to Megan. "Well you look fantastic today, Miss O'Brien, let me tell you, if you weren't Walter's sister and if I wasn't dating Happy and if you weren't dating Sylvester..."

"I still can't figure out if this is sweet or creepy," Megan said, a corner of her mouth turning up in an amused smile, "oh, I got it!" She snapped her fingers. "An attempt to draw attention away from the awkward situation!"

"Nonsense, it's not awkward, Paige is just..." Toby paused, glancing around the room. Happy blinked in surprise. "Where'd she go?"

"There's something sinister going on with the Dineens today," Toby said dramatically, putting his hands on his hips."

"She went up the stairs," Happy said. "Just like Ralph earlier."

"You see what I have to deal with?" Toby said, tapping the side of one of Megan's crutches. "No sense of imagination."

* * *

"Guys, can we please go downstairs? Walter, Megan is here. Sylvester..."

"I'm sorry!" he blurted. "I know you didn't want him to know but I really, really feel like considering the situation..."

She held up a hand to silence him. "I'm not mad, okay?"

"You're..." Sylvester hesitated. "You're not?"

"Maybe a little," Paige said. "But that's not what's important to me right now. Ralphie?"

Ralph came over to her, and Paige put her hands on the sides of his face. "We're going to get through this baby, okay?" Her hands moved with him as he nodded. "Good," she said. "It's going to be okay. Mom's just a little on edge because, because it's a task we haven't completed yet, and we don't like waiting around for something. Aunt Megan is here, you want to go say hi?" She ran her hands quickly through his hair. "Go say hi."

The adults watched as Ralph descended the stairs, and then Sylvester hesitantly crept up behind Paige and tapped her on the shoulder. "Seriously though, I'm really..."

She whirled around, threw her arms around him and buried her head in his chest. Sylvester looked startled. "Uh, Walter? Walter?" he hesitantly put his hands on Paige's upper back, patting her shoulder. "There there. Walter? Paige, I apologize but I'm not used to being in a comforting role here..."

"Oh, just hug me, Sly," Paige said, amused. "You've done it before."

"Oh, yeah, I can do, I can do general hugs," Sylvester said. "I've actually been told that I excel at those."

"By who, exactly?"

" _Your sister_ ," Sylvester hissed in a tone that suggested the action was scandalous. Paige couldn't help herself; she laughed.

 **Megan will be more in the next chapter, and will probably be in every chapter until the end of the fic. Based on my outline as is, there will be four more chapters, give or take.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I went so long without an update! Real life has gotten majorly in the way. I foolishly thought I'd have more time when I was done with college. Whoops. I think having a degree cuts an hour or two out of every day!**

* * *

"What are you doing?" Paige asked in confusion as she came down the stairs.

"We're learning that although our little family may be ripped apart, it's important that we have our health," Toby said, struggling to move forward properly on the makeshift crutches he, Happy, and Ralph were hobbling around on. Toby stumbled, the crutches sliding out from under him as he struggled to keep his balance, crashing into a coat rack. His hand went to his throat "my trachea!"

"Oh, get over yourself," Happy said, hopping on one foot as she regained her own balance.

"Why are you all doing this?" Walter asked. "Why are they all doing this?" he said again, this time looking at his sister, who was leaning against the table, grinning and looking incredibly proud of herself.

She shrugged. "Perspective. Look how good Ralph is!"

"Not bad, Ralph," Paige said encouragingly. "He was a bit slow in motor skills," she said quietly.

"Phone is ringing," Megan said. "One of you better hop over here and get it!" She shrugged. "I mean, I don't work here."

"Like heck I'm getting over there," Toby said, having just straightened up. "Let it go to voicemail. No one important calls that phone anyway."

"Hi, it's Drew, um, Paige, if you get this, can you answer your cell, we're supposed to meet with the social worker at three, and it's quarter to..."

"Oh shit," Paige said, then clapped a hand over her mouth as she dove for the phone. Toby determined now was not the time to remind her of their "swore in front of Ralph" jar. Her tone was too panicked. "Drew! Drew, what's...oh god...okay. We're coming right now. Right now." She put the phone down. "Ralph. We have to go talk to someone."

"Who?"

"There's a social worker that wants to see how you interact with Dad and I. I thought it was tomorrow...I was going to let you know tonight...come on!"

Ralph leaned his crutches up against the table Megan was perched against. "I'll be...we'll be back later," Paige said, flustered. "Sorry. Maybe. We might be back later, we...we have to go."

"Paige."

Paige let out a sharp breath. "What, Sly?"

"Deep breaths. In, two, three, out five, six. Like you tell me."

Paige gave him a brief smile. "Thanks. I'll be by later."

"Oh, this is a mess," Toby said when the mother and son had left. "Walt, we have to up our game."

"At least Drew didn't just let Paige miss the appointment," Megan said.

"Hey, I'm allowed to hate whoever I want," Toby said firmly. "Especially since Drew thinks that Paige and Walter's relationship is what's putting Ralph into dangerous situations."

"What?"

"What?"

"What?"

Toby made eye contact with Megan, then Sylvester, and then Walter. "You heard me. He thinks that Paige is so invested in being around Walter she's unintentionally turning a blind eye to the dangers that Ralph faces."

"That is literally the most far-fetched idea I've ever heard," Walter said.

"It's true though," Toby said. "I've been bugging him."

"As in pestering, or as in recording?" Megan asked.

"Oh, I'm recording, he's the one doing the pestering," Toby said. "And it doesn't surprise me he didn't let Paige miss the appointment. He's the one who called her. He's being responsible. He should be Ralph's new daddy."

"Technically he's alrea..." Happy began.

"Shut up."

"Paige does not have romantic feelings for me," Walter said. "Drew is looking for anything at all to use against her without being able to be accused of slander. And troublesome love interests can cause problems with custodial parents while in custody battles like this. Sly's dating Megan, Toby is dating Happy, Cabe is too old, only makes sense Drew would pair her up with me."

"Yeah, that was his logic," Toby said. "Just pair everyone off. I'm sure that's it."

"It's the only logical explanation," Walter said. "Stop making that face."

* * *

"Hey there, Ralph," Paige said when the social worker led him through the door out into the little garden behind the building. She'd given them a slightly disapproving look when they showed up ten minutes late, but hadn't said anything to Paige about her tardiness before taking Ralph off to watch him interacting with Drew.

"Among all these shapes with the same perimeter, which one has the greatest area?"

"The circle," Ralph said. "But if they had the same area, circle has the shortest perimeter." Ralph walked over to the flowers and looked up. "Do you remember about the sunflowers?"

"How the seed patterns follow the Fibonacci sequence?" Paige asked, smiling and getting up, walking to him and crouching down to be eye level with her son. "Fibonacci is too confusing for me. I like solid numbers, multiples of five and ten, or two. Things that go evenly into one hundred."

"You know that the word hundred is derived from a word that actual means one twenty?" Ralph asked. "Do you like one twenty?"

"I suppose most numbers that go into one hundred also go into one twenty," Paige said.

"One, two, four, five, ten, twenty," Ralph said, nodding. He looked over at the social worker. "Miss?"

"Don't interact with me, Ralph," she said. "I'm watching to see how you and your mother play with each other."

Ralph straightened up. "You can't possibly observe us in our natural state when one or both parties being observed knows about the observation," he said. "And you probably also can't possibly understand what is normal for me, unless you have an I.Q. of one sixty or above. That's how smart Einstein was," he added. "When Walter O'Brien was arrested by the state of Nevada, his intelligence contributed to his half a million dollar bail despite his completely obvious innocence. I think my intelligence should make me of age to give an opinion on where I want to be and if I didn't want to be living with my mom I would have said so. I would have said so because if I don't have a close relationship with someone I didn't used to be capable of understanding what could potentially hurt their feelings. I do now. My mom and her job has helped me with that. I don't want to be graded on how well someone who doesn't know us thinks my mom and I are together. We're good. Don't take me away from her."

* * *

Paige faintly heard the knock at her door, but she managed to convince herself she was imagining it the first time. She was in a rare position.

Ralph had never been one to express a need for physical contact – he'd only recently been taking her hand for reasons other than the safety measures she'd put in place when he was young – "hold my hand to cross the street, Ralph." Tonight, she was on the couch aimlessly looking for something to watch while Ralph slept, and her son had come back into the room and climbed up on the couch, cuddling up with her and falling asleep with his head on her chest like he had when he was a baby. She rested her chin on the top of his head, her arms tightly around him, not wanting the moment to be ruined by getting up and answering the door.

But then the knock came again. Suddenly Paige's mind was racing. Ralph's speech to the social worker had been taken badly. They were coming to take Ralph away right now. A million scenarios flashed through her mind and she jumped when her cell phone buzzed. Fishing it out of the couch while trying not to disturb Ralph, she held the phone over her son's head to read the message.

 _Are you guys okay?_

She glanced at the door. The knocking had stopped.

 _Is it you at the door? It's unlocked._

She waited a moment for the response.

 _I'm sorry, is you telling me it's unlocked an invitation to come in?_

"Yes," Paige said out loud. Ralph had always been more disturbed my movement than sound.

The door slowly opened. "Hey," Walter said. "How did things go today?"

"Well," Paige said, smiling and unsure of if it was because of what she was about to tell him or if it was in response to the way Walter was smiling at the scene before him. "He told me he played along when he was with Drew. But he told the social worker he didn't want to be observed and that no one who doesn't understand can accurately decide who he should be with and he wants to live with me. I don't know if that will help my case, but..." Paige cuddled Ralph closer. "But he wants to stay with me. He wants to stay with me, Walter." She blinked tears from her eyes. "He also told her that a drastic move might affect him mentally and emotionally due to his still developing E.Q."

"Megan told him to bring that up, most likely." Walter nodded. "We...uh...we faced that problem with me a few times."

"I'm so scared still," she said in a whisper. "But it helps...it helps a lot knowing that Ralph wants me. I'm glad he knows his dad and I'm glad Drew cares enough about him to want to take custody but..." Paige kissed Ralph's forehead. "But he's my son and _he wants me_.

Walter was still smiling. "It'll all be okay. Every problem has a solution."

"I know."

"And in this case, you're the right one." Walter cleared his throat. "In most cases, really. Anyway, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile. "Oh, Walter?"

"Hmm?"

"You and Sly can watch Ralph while we're in the hearing on Monday, right?"

"Oh, we'll be in the hearing too."

"You will? How?"

"Oh, not officially," Walter said. "But we'll be able to see and hear everything that's going on."

"How in the world are you...never mind," Paige shook her head. "I probably shouldn't know."

He smiled. "See you at work."


	8. Chapter 8

**I've been in a funk of sorts lately. Haven't really felt like writing much of anything, so instead of a longer chapter like I was hoping for, I'm splitting it in two and publishing this short bit just to get me going again. Hopefully it won't be long until the next chapter is up...two or three left is the plan right now.**

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Ralph asked.

"Well, first of all," Sylvester said, "Megan's going to get herself arrested again."

"What?"

"She's planting a chip with video surveillance in the courtroom," Walter said. "She's going to sneak in before it opens. She is not going to get arrested."

"You are aware that if we're caught doing this my dad will say that it's proof that I should live with him."

"But here's the thing, buddy," Walter said, hunkering down and putting his hands on Ralph's upper arms. "We won't get caught. And you can watch us prove to that judge that Scorpion is your home."

Ralph bit his lip. "I don't know if we're going to make it work this time."

"Hey. Hey!" Walter briefly touched Ralph's chin. "It's all going to be okay. These people...they don't know what we're capable of. We have this all figured out. Right Sylvester?" Walter cleared his throat. " _Right, Sylvester_?"

Sylvester jumped, looking up from what he was doing. "Yep, yep! We've got this, Ralphie boy."

* * *

"Excuse me."

The security guard turned around to see a woman hobbling toward him. "Can I help you with something, miss?"

"Yeah," she said. "I think my doctor gave me cheap braces. Where do I go to sue him?"

The guard frowned. "Um, if you want to file a..."

The woman started giggling. "Sorry, that's my joke, it always throws people off and I thought considering where we were..." she cleared her throat. "Ahem. Where is the bathroom?"

"Down the hall and to the left," he said. "The one right next to the courtroom has a large stall."

"Thanks," the woman said. "Large door on the left, got it."

By the time the guard realized she'd misunderstood him and ran down the hall to correct her, she was already letting herself back out of the courtroom, blushing furiously at her innocent mistake.

* * *

"She got in!"

"Of course she did," Walter said. "See, Ralph? Now we can watch. Your mom and Drew are the first case after the lunch break. It won't be long now."

"Ralph!"

"Mom!" Ralph ran over to where Paige was standing in the lobby of the library. "Are you about to go over?"

"Yes," she said, bending and pushing her hands through his hair. "I'm going to keep you, baby. I promise I won't lose you." She dropped to eye level. "Remember the first day we met Walter, and everyone? You put those car keys in my hand because you knew that I could do it. I need you to believe in me again okay?"

Ralph nodded. "Okay." He reached out and took her hand. "I love you."

Paige nodded, her eyes damp, and she kissed her son on the top of the head before pressing her forehead to his and holding it there for a long time. Then she rose, made eye contact with Walter and Sylvester, and took in a deep breath as she turned to head across the street to the courthouse.


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's the second to last chapter! This fic will be finished tomorrow or Saturday. Huge thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, favorited, and/or followed it.**

 **As always, the procedure/legal stuff in this chapter is based off of online research, accounts from people I know who have been through the same thing, and off of other plotlines in shows/books/movies that are similar to this one. I don't claim 100% authenticity, especially writing fanfic for a show that plugs laptops into moving planes. ;)**

* * *

Walter and Ralph returned from the bathroom to find Sylvester and Megan hunched over the laptop with concerned looks on their faces. "What's the matter?" Walter said, trying to keep his tone calm.

"Signal is cutting in and out," Megan said, "there's some sort of disturbance in the Force."

"Do we still have audio?" Ralph asked.

"We do," Sylvester said. "They're talking to Drew's witnesses now, your grandparents. They're talking about how he's put selfless effort into being there for you recently and how they foster troubled kids. Not...not that you're troubled, just..."

"I know what you mean, Sylvester," Ralph said, nodding slowly. "I don't know if they do, though."

"Hey," Megan said, patting her knee. Ralph came over and stood next to her. "They're just trying to show that you'd have a reliable babysitter while he's at work. But it could backfire, you know. The judge might think they have enough on their plate already." She grinned at the impressed look on Walter's face. "You didn't think of that angle, did you, little bro?"

"Happy is talking now," Sylvester said. "She's mentioning how conscious Paige always is of where Ralph is when we're on a case."

"Good," Walter said. "What's she saying now?"

Sylvester looked a little confused. "I mean...still pretty much the same...oh!" he pushed on the earbud, offering the other one to Walter. "Listen to this, Walter, Ralph, come here. _Listen to this._ "

* * *

" _Paige always takes Ralph's well-being into careful consideration. Her job being dangerous at times shouldn't invalidate her ability to be a mother." Happy cleared her throat. Those who knew her could tell she was nervous, but to the others, it was as if she was reciting the alphabet. "There are single mother police officers. Single mother fire fighters. Single mother members of our armed forces. These mothers lay it all on the line every day for their families, their communities, and their country. In working with a team that operates alongside Homeland Security, Ms. Dineen does the same. She should be applauded, not punished by losing her child."_

* * *

" _Ms. Dineen gave up everything to take care of Ralph," Toby said. "She gave up school, she gave up a singing career that, let's be honest, she would have rocked, and she began working two trying jobs to make sure that he had everything he needed and as much of what he wanted that she could provide. On the other hand, Drew Baker decided to continue to follow his dream of being a baseball player, not so much as laying an eye on Ralph for seven years. When he finally came back, he told us that he wouldn't leave again because he was washed up – because his career wasn't going anywhere, he was finally ready to commit to being a father. But then he got offered another baseball job, and instead of saying no, instead of saying it was time to commit to his son, he tried to get Ms. Dineen to uproot her life and follow him across the country with Ralph in toe. He may have Ralph's best interests at heart, but he hasn't once sacrificed everything for the kid. The only person who has been there for him his entire life is his mother and I don't think it's right to separate them."_

* * *

" _If you look at that document again, exhibit H," Cabe said sternly, "you'll notice that Ralph's kindergarten, first, second, and third grade counselors all diagnosed him with mental and learning disabilities. He only spoke to his mother. In the past year, you'll see he has moved into a gifted program. His father has admitted to you that he has friends, he goes to birthday parties, and has spirited conversation with others. Ms. Dineen is at risk of losing custody of him because of Scorpion, when the combination of his mother's love and Scorpion are what caused him to blossom. He is thriving for the first time in his life. Don't remove him from the only environment that has encouraged him to be the brilliant mind he is."_

* * *

" _...so...so in conclusion," Paige stammered, her palms sweating again. She'd done well throughout the entire statement so far, through the cross examination, she'd kept her cool through it all, but now that it was time to wrap everything up, make her final plea to keep her family together, she was blanking on everything she wanted to say. She stopped, inhaled, and let it out slowly, remembering her controlled breathing exercises from way back when she wanted to be a singer, before Ralph came along and changed everything, forever, making her life so much more incredible than any other path ever could. "I am financially secure enough to take care of my son, and I spent years working to get us to that point. He has a routine here, a school he likes, friends for the first time in his life, and although my job can be dangerous at times, in so many ways it's the safe haven that I, and especially Ralph, have always needed. I've been at his side since the day they laid him on my chest and I know him better than anyone else. He has an advantage that most kids don't have at his age – he is already where he absolutely belongs._

* * *

Ralph's nerves were evident as they crossed the street back to the courthouse. He not only held both Sylvester and Ralph's hands as he walked between them, he clutched them as if some invisible force was already trying to rip him away. He tripped twice coming up the steps, relying on Walter and Sylvester to stop him from falling.

"Easy there, Scorpling," Megan said. "You should be taking these stairs a hundred times easier than me."

Ralph gave a small smile, then looked up at Walter for reassurance. "It's going to be fine," he told the boy. "You heard them."

"Ralph," came a male voice, and they turned to see Drew walking toward them. "Hey, buddy."

Ralph sighed. "Hi."

The look on Drew's face _almost_ garnered sympathy from Megan. Almost.

He dropped down next to the boy. "Hey, Ralph. Look, you know I'm just doing what I think is best for you, right?"

Ralph shifted his weight. "Yeah."

"Look, buddy, I know it seems like I'm being the bad guy here..."

"Paige is _not_ the bad guy," Walter snapped.

Drew raised his eyebrows. "Not exactly what I'm saying." He looked back at Ralph. "Ralph, you know I'm sorry about missing out on so much time with you. I feel guilty about it every day, and I know I still make mistakes. I just want you to know that, no matter what happens, I'm _trying_. Okay?"

Ralph hesitated, looking up at Walter again, then back at his father. "Okay."

"Ralph."

Toby ran to them and scooped the boy up in the air, spinning around. "We did good, buddy. We did real good." His eyes fell on Drew. "Oh. Hello."

"Where is Paige?" Sylvester asked.

"Down the hall," Happy said. "Pacing. Or she's in the bathroom again. This is making her ill." Her eyes fell on Ralph. "It's gonna be fine, though. I swear. Right?" she elbowed Toby, who nodded vigorously.

* * *

Walter left the group and located Paige sitting next to the door to the women's room, her knees drawn up, her forehead resting on them. He eased down next to her. "We heard everyone in there. You guys did great. Couldn't have said it better myself."

She raised her head, turning to face him, and he was thrown off by her damp cheeks and bloodshot eyes. "Hey," he said, alarmed. "Hey hey hey, look, you guys did great. Nothing Drew's family said measures up. This is a lock. All that's left to do is listen to the judge rule that you're who Ralph belongs with."

She shook her head slowly, and when she spoke, her voice sounded unfamiliar. "But there's still a chance," she said.

"A one in a million chance."

"We've witnessed one in a million odds being beaten before."

"Yes," Walter said. "Only because it was us."

She bit her lip. "He is the...the most important thing in the world," she said slowly, struggling to keep her voice from wavering. "And we're done in there. I've done all I can do, and now...now all we do is wait."

"We won't wait long," Walter said. "It's an easy decision. Trust us."

She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder, letting out a deep, shaky sigh. "I just want this all to be over."


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's the final chapter of Compass. HUGE thank you to everyone who has read this, I've been blown away looking at the statistics for this fic, I really wasn't expecting something that wasn't a ship fic to get this kind of attention. It's amazing. Thank you, everyone, thank you so much. I've had a lot of confidence issues writing these past six months, and the feedback on this fic has just warmed my heart and made my day. Thank you, everyone.**

* * *

"Where on Earth are they..." Megan trailed off when she noticed her brother and Paige in the corner, next to the bathroom that she'd conveniently failed to locate earlier in the day. She looked over at Sylvester, who set his jaw. "It'll be okay, right?"

"Of course," she said, reaching out and touching his elbow. "They've got this. Ralph's telling the judge right now that he doesn't want to go with his dad. "

"Come on guys," Happy said, gesturing toward Paige. "She needs us right now."

As they approached, Paige was still leaning against the wall, legs extended out, ankles crossed. Her hands were folded in her lap, her head still resting on Walter's shoulder. Her feet were shaking nervously, she was biting her lower lip and staring blankly ahead.

"Hey Dineen," Happy said, stretching her leg forward to tap Paige's foot with the toe of her boot. "You hanging in there?"

Paige was silent, her eyes lifting to Happy the only acknowledgement of the mechanic's question.

"He's going to tell them he wants to stay with you," Walter said quietly, tipping his head toward her. "You know that's what he's going to say."

"She's afraid he'll say too much," Toby said, "like when he got in trouble at school for explaining how people die from nerve gas."

"He won't say too much," Happy said. "He knows what he's doing. It'll be fine." She dropped to her knees, putting a hand on Paige's ankle. "Paige, listen to us. It's almost over. This is just another thing that you'll be able to put behind you tomorrow."

Paige's mouth opened slightly as she exhaled, her fingers twisting around each other.

Sylvester lowered himself to the ground next to Happy. Toby moved over, sinking to the floor as well. "Just think," Toby said, "in a matter of minutes, they could call you in and you'll get to take Ralph home knowing _he is yours_. And you won't have to worry about this again."

This time, he received a nod.

* * *

"Will the parties involved in _Baker vs. Dineen_ please return to the courtroom!"

Paige jumped, looking wild eyed. "Oh God," she said putting a hand over her face.

"Come on," Sylvester said, reaching out and taking her hands to help her to her feet. "Let's go get Ralph."

"Ohhh, I'm going to throw up," Paige said.

"No throwing up," Sylvester said. "That's my thing."

"Hey," Walter said quietly. She turned to face him. He hesitated, then stepped forward and pulled her into a hug.

"Aww," Megan said, grinning.

Walter released Paige and smiled briefly at her before glaring at Megan.

"Go on," Happy said, patting Paige's shoulder as she passed. "Come on guys," Happy said, addressing the rest of the group, "let's go."

* * *

"Mr. Baker," the judge said after returning from her chambers and announcing that she was going to be brief, "it's almost lunch time," and she expected both parties to be respectful of her decision, "I find your desire to step up and be a father admirable. Your parents are doing incredible work, and Ralph is a lot luckier than a lot of kids in the sense that both his parents care about him even though their relationship is over."

Drew gave a nod.

"However," she said, turning her gaze to Paige, "I find it difficult to see an argument for taking custody away from you, Ms. Dineen. You gave up your career prospects to raise the boy, you continually worked to improve his grades and social skills, and you manage to balance a very difficult and important career with making sure he has all he needs, and based on the evidence provided, your son needs to be around people like your co – workers about as much as he needs you. Therefore, my decision is that Ralph Dineen remains in the full care of his mother."

The judge spoke for another minute or so, but Paige didn't hear a word she said. The tears that had been threatening to overflow for the past hour finally won. Her vision blurred, and she began to shake. She felt someone – Cabe, probably – stand up behind her and reach out to steady and prevent her from falling. Next to him, Happy and Toby looked at each other, grinned, and kissed in celebration.

"That's my final decision," the judge concluded. "Ms. Dineen, I assume you would like to go and see your son."

"Yes," Paige managed, covering her face with her hands briefly before looking back at the judge. "Yes. Thank you."

The judge said something else, about how they could go, and Paige got up, rushing for the back doors. Somehow outside them was Megan and her son. _Her_ son. Who would be going home with _her_.

* * *

When Paige saw Ralph, the sound she made in her throat almost sounded pained, but Megan knew that wasn't what it meant at all. She smiled as Paige rushed to them, falling to her knees and pulling Ralph to her with such force she toppled over backward. She didn't move to get up right away, instead content to lay on the floor of the courthouse, clutching Ralph to her and crying. It pleased Megan to see that Ralph was holding onto her with almost as much desperation.

Finally, Paige pulled herself to her feet, lifting Ralph with her, rocking him back and forth. "Oh, baby," she said through her tears. "We're going home, baby."

"Hey hey hey!" Toby said, jogging up. "Look who's a winner!"

Paige laughed, spinning around before setting Ralph down. The boy was, as usual in crowds, quiet, but smiling from ear to ear.

"God," Paige said, throwing her arms around Happy. "Thank you. Thank you so much." Sylvester came up and joined the hug. "Is this awkward?" he asked after a moment.

"No," Paige said with a little laugh. "Come on Toby, get in here."

"Will someone hug me?" Megan demanded, and Paige laughed, moving over to embrace her. "I owe you," she said in a low voice. "I owe all of you."

"No you don't," Megan said. "You don't owe us a thing. Right, little bro?"

Paige turned to see Walter approach. "No," he said. "We're all family. Scorpions don't expect payment when they protect their own."

"It'd be too much to ask for another hug, wouldn't it?" Paige asked, cocking her head.

Walter gave a small smile before opening his arms and stepping toward her. "It's a special day."

Ralph was watchin them, still smiling, and gave a brief little laugh as Toby scooped him up. "You're coming home, Ralphy boy," he said. "You're going to stay with us, grow with us, and thrive with us. Your childhood is set." Toby removed his hat and set it on Ralph's head. "And it's going to be glorious." Toby smiled.

Sylvester leaned over to Ralph, tapping him on the shoulder to make sure the boy looked at him when he spoke.

"Your mom did that."

* * *

" **You wanna give up because it's dark? We're really not that far apart. So let your heart, sweetheart, be your compass when you're lost, and you should follow it wherever it may go. When it's all said and done, you can walk instead of run, because no matter what you'll never be alone."**


End file.
